Their national anthems will be banned, if they win a medal they will not be included in their country's official list and they will be placed in the neutral team, a word that does not fit in with the personality of Daniil Medvedev, an athlete who is used to being in the limelight for his numerous controversies, his sporting solidity and his impressive height of 1.98 metres.

A review of his recent tournaments shows insults to chair umpires, verbal attacks on rivals such as Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and German Alexander Zverev, and even insults to the audience at the Paris Masters.

Medvedev is ranked fifth in the world. Outside the Slams, Medvedev is one of six men to have won six or more Masters titles, joining Djokovic, Roger Federer, Nadal, Andre Agassi and Andy Murray. When he spent 16 weeks as world number one in 2022, he became the first man in 18 years to reach the top spot, alongside Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal.

He won his only major title at the 2021 US Open, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. In the final of this year's Australian Open, he lost a two-set lead to Novak Djokovic.

The loss of athletes and coaches during the conflict with Russia may have reduced the potential delegation of ÇUcrania, with 140, It will be the smallest team in Ukraine's Olympic history.

The IOC allowed the Russians to take part in the Games, but subject to a number of strong criteria.The decision on the participation of Russian athletes who have been granted neutral status in the Closing Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be made later. Russia on Wednesday accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of "racism and neo-Nazism" over its neutrality rules for Russian Olympians and possible sanctions for athletes taking part in the Kremlin-organised Friendship Games.

Authorities have investigated over a million people, including athletes, coaches, journalists, volunteers, security guards and even local residents near event locations ahead of the Olympics, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told weekly Paris Match on Tuesday. Of those, 4,360 were denied access to the Games, with people close to Darmanin telling AFP on Sunday that 880 were barred over suspicions of foreign interference.

In recent months, several high-profile stunts have raised suspicion that foreign actors are trying to influence French public opinion or stoke divisions, notably about Russia's invasion of Ukraine or Israel's campaign in Gaza after the 7 October attack by Hamas.

Local authorities clarified that the alleged plot was not terrorist in nature but the man was held in custody on Tuesday after an investigation was opened into "passing intelligence to a foreign power in order to arouse hostilities” during the Olympic Games.